If you're @attbi.com, prepare to change

For the second time in a little more than a year, high-speed Internet customers who get their fast connections through AT&T Broadband's cable system will be forced to change their e-mail addresses.

The move, to take effect next month, will affect about 1.9 million customers nationwide, including more than 200,000 in Washington state, according to estimates.

AT&T Broadband, which last year was acquired by Comcast, will use regular mail and e-mail in coming days to notify customers, Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp said yesterday.

The part of the e-mail address before the "@" sign will not change. But the back end, or domain, will switch from "attbi.com" to "comcast.net" next month, Kipp said.

Also affected by the shift will be Internet settings to access newsgroups and to publish Web pages. The default "home page" for existing AT&T Broadband customers also will switch, but online services and features will otherwise remain "very similar," Kipp said.

E-mail sent to the dying "attbi.com" address will be delivered for 60 days after the switch. But that's the extent of the grace period Comcast plans to offer, at least initially, Kipp said.

That means e-mail sent to attbi.com more than 60 days after the switch might not get through. "Of course, it's up to us to decide whether we're going to extend that or not," Kipp added.

Tony Perez, director of Seattle's Office of Cable Communications, yesterday was skeptical that 60 days was enough time for a smooth transition. "I do not believe that 60 days is sufficient, but I expect that Comcast will be reasonable, and work with the city," Perez said.

In late 2001, about 850,000 AT&T Broadband customers lost network connections and had to switch their "@home" e-mail accounts as a result of failed negotiations between the cable company and Excite@Home.

Some customers went weeks without reliable service as a result of the switch. Many complained they had to endure long waits in trying to get assistance from AT&T customer service.

Similar disruption is not anticipated this time. Still, some industry observers said the 60-day grace period seems stingy compared with what other Internet providers have done in similar circumstances.

For example, three years ago EarthLink merged with MindSpring, yet e-mail addressed to MindSpring.com subscribers gets through to this day. Similarly, more than two years after Qwest acquired US West, e-mail addressed to USWest.net customers works.

Comcast's Kipp declined to say how many broadband customers the company has in Washington state. In late 2001, AT&T said it had 130,000; a look at national and local statistics suggests the number now exceeds 200,000. In unincorporated King County, for the 12 months ended last September, the number of customers increased to nearly 29,500, an almost 60 percent jump, records show.

Peter Lewis: 206-464-2217 or plewis@seattletimes.com.